Southern Capital Trip
Lin Shizi is indeed very rich.
Yan Dan clutched the silver ingot he had given her despite his dark expression, feeling quite pleased. Actually, the ladder was old and definitely not worth a penny, yet Young Master Lin had paid so much. Yan Dan weighed it in her hand, estimating it to be about four or five taels. Five taels of silver was a considerable sum; she didn't even earn that much a month in the opera troupe in a year.
This kind of spoiled brat really knows how to squander money.
Yan Dan ran to exchange some loose silver and copper coins, bought some food to take back and invite the opera troupe members to eat together. She had always resented the troupe leader for being too stingy, so she didn't invite him. Hua Hanjing disdained to squat and eat with them and left on his own.
With a piece of vegetarian chicken in his mouth, Min Liu asked indistinctly, "Who gave you so much silver?"
Yan Dan replied with a smile, "It's that Young Master Lin. He probably has so much money in his family that he can't spend it all, so he uses it to swindle me. Of course, I won't be polite and will help him make good use of it."
Min Liu chewed on his food and said, "Oh, it's that Young Master Lin. No wonder."
Uncle Zhao hurriedly said, "Yan Dan, you have to be careful in the future. These noble children are not good people. You will suffer if you stay with them."
Yan Dan obediently replied, "Yes, I won't even talk to them much anymore." She didn't think she was some kind of beauty that could topple kingdoms, and that Prince Lin was just after a fleeting infatuation; he wouldn't bother her all the time.
The next day, Yan Dan had just stepped out of the rented courtyard when she bumped into Lin Weiyan. Lin Shizi, dressed in a blue official robe with a flowing sash, rode along, smiling slightly at her, "Miss Yan, look at the fine weather today, it's a perfect time for a spring outing. Why don't we go for a stroll together?"
Yan Dan couldn't help but think to herself, "A spring outing is only suitable for springtime. It's already summer now, so of course the weather should be sunny and clear. After a day in the sun, everyone would wilt." In the customs of the mortal world, there is also a custom of calling people by their surnames and then addressing them as "Miss" or "Young Master." Her name was Yan Dan, and thanks to the character "Yan," she appeared to be no different from ordinary people on the surface.
Lin Weiyan reined in her horse and looked down at her: "Are you afraid of the strong sun? There are many trees along the Zhangtai River outside the city, so you won't get sunburned."
Yan Dan spoke tactfully, "Young Master Lin, aren't you supposed to be patrolling the city? This might not be appropriate."
Lin Weiyan chuckled: "What's the big deal? This is just for show, to impress others."
Yan Dan declined, saying, "This isn't appropriate. Even if it's for others to see, we should at least make it look proper..."
Lin Weiyan suddenly bent down, picked her up, and hung her on the saddle: "Then let's patrol the city first and then go on our trip." He flicked the reins, and the horse galloped forward. Yan Dan hung upside down, feeling dizzy and her voice became louder: "Lin Weiyan, what exactly do you want?"
It's a pity she didn't dare curse him to ride his horse into the wall in the alley; if he really did, she would suffer the same fate.
Lin Weiyan's spirited voice came from above: "What are you afraid of? I won't let you fall."
Yan Dan felt her head throbbing, her blood rushing backward, and she began to feel nauseous and unable to speak.
As soon as Lin Weiyan reined in her horse on the banks of the Zhangtai River, Yan Dan practically tumbled off the saddle and collapsed onto the bank, vomiting violently until she nearly threw up everything she had eaten the night before.
Lin Weiyan walked to her side, opened a folding fan and fanned her, and asked in surprise, "Are you really feeling that bad?"
Yan Dan was speechless with anger, and it took her a moment to calm down: "It doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt at all. I was just throwing up for fun."
Lin Weiyan casually put her hand on her shoulder and said with a smile, "Yan Dan, you really are different from the girls I've met before... Your personality, hmm, is quite interesting."
Yan Dan turned her head, staring at him with murderous intent, and slowly said, "Do you want a verbal contest or a physical contest? If you lose, don't bother me again."
He snapped his folding fan shut, looking quite troubled: "This isn't a good idea, is it? How could I possibly fight with a young lady? What if I accidentally bump into her and hurt her? That would be too ungentlemanly. If it's a contest of literature, I'm a graduate of the imperial examinations, so it would be unfair for me to win..."
Yan Dan was quite frustrated, apparently worried that his victory would be unfair: "Then let's compete in literature. See that pavilion over there? Write a poem about the scenery."
Lin Weiyan rested his chin on the handle of his fan and smiled slightly, "I'll choose the poetic form. If you can come up with one, I'll consider it a loss. How about that?" He thought for a moment and then said, "Let's choose the 'Highest Building' poetic form. Take your time thinking. If you can come up with one before sunset, you'll win."
Yan Dan looked at him and couldn't help but say, "You're quite modest..."
Lin Weiyan smiled slightly at her, then opened her folding fan and slowly began to fan herself.
Yan Dan walked back and forth along the riverbank several times before suddenly stopping: "Shall I read it to you?" Lin Weiyan raised her folding fan: "Please."
I still remember the mist clearing, the waters sparkling blue. We met when we were young. Looking back at that bright moon, the willows of Zhangtai echoed with the sound of the Qiang flute. Catkins flew in disarray, the wine was cold, and rouge fell. Alas, my sentimentality should laugh at me.
"You girls always like to write about love and sorrow. General Mu's daughter also likes to write about these things. These few lines are not good."
Yan Dan looked up at the setting sun in the west and suddenly remembered the sunset over the River of Oblivion, that lonely yet beautiful sunset day after day. The last few lines came out of her mouth: "Who knows, tonight I climb the high tower. The west wind is gentle, the music is broken. The flowing clouds do not know the setting sun's weariness, the high tower does not understand the sorrow of the flowing water. Fate brings birth and death, youth fades, when will it end?"
Lin Weiyan straightened up and said in a low voice, "The drifting clouds don't know the setting sun's weariness, and the tall buildings don't understand the flowing water's sorrow. Ha, it seems I have no choice but to admit defeat. But I am neither a drifting cloud nor a tall building. If you are weary and sorrowful, come find me..."
Yan Dan immediately got goosebumps. She had learned something new; it seemed that Prince Lin could indeed fool some young girls.
However, life in Nandu was not necessarily going to be peaceful from then on.
The reason was that Prince Lin had not taken the promise he made that day to heart at all, and continued to bother her all the time.
"Yan Dan, your name contains the character 'Yan,' and so does mine. This must be a destiny ordained by heaven."
"Your name was given to you by your father, and mine was given to me by my father. If we're talking about fate, aren't our two fathers more destined for each other?"
"A woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent; do you not have such a saying in the South?"
"Yes, there is, but you are not an ordinary woman."
"Does the traditional virtue of men and women not touching each other exist in the South?"
"Hmm... I do have that too, but I happen to be no ordinary man."
"..."
What exactly do you see in me?
"Hmm, he writes good scripts, can also compose poems and lyrics, is good-looking... and most importantly, has a very interesting personality."
"If you had to choose between me and Miss Huang from Lanxin Embroidery Workshop, who would you choose?"
"Does it have to be so complicated to choose one? I would choose both."
What if you could only choose one?
"Girls should be tolerant. Whether you marry one or two, it's all the same. Wouldn't it be better if everyone got together and had a lively time?"
“That’s right. If you truly like someone, you’ll only remember that person. You won’t care about anyone else, and you won’t find it exciting or interesting.” Yan Dan never expected that she would one day be explaining the origins of feelings to mortals, and she was quite proud. “You just think I’m interesting, different from those you’ve met before, and you’re just looking for something new. You don’t actually like me at all.”
"Your personality is very interesting and novel, but I really like you."
"..." For the first time, Yan Dan really wanted to kill someone.
Yan Dan had to constantly think about how to avoid that Prince Lin, while Min Liu was often nowhere to be seen. Several days later, she learned that Min Liu had been out traveling with the Prime Minister's son, Pei Luo.
Lin Weiyan and Pei Luo are both notorious womanizers with no morals whatsoever. Yan Danzhen really didn't want to see Min Liu being ruined by those noble young masters. Uncle Zhao had tried to persuade him several times, but Min Liu wouldn't listen and came home late every day.
Time flew by, and summer was over, drawing to a close in the height of summer. The opera troupe was also heading back to Tongcheng. Yan Dan had caught Min Liu crying several times at night. Indeed, it was understandable; those noble young men never truly invested their hearts in such matters, and having already given their hearts away, heartbreak was inevitable.
Yan Dan felt bad seeing her cry, but could only pat her back to help her catch her breath.
They packed their things quickly and left Nandu that same day, returning to Tongcheng. Min Liu kept looking back at Nandu, her eyes red and swollen, her appearance haggard. Yan Dan handed her a bag of rose candy she had just bought, smiling slightly as she said, "If you don't look back, I'll treat you to some candy."
Min Liu glared at her, then suddenly snatched the bag of rose candies, stuffed several into her mouth, and chewed them loudly.
Yan Dan couldn't help but think, "Is she secretly plotting how to tear that Young Master Pei to pieces? How ruthless..."
When they arrived in Nandu, they mostly walked, and they also walked back to Tongcheng. As a result, they missed their lodging and didn't cross half the mountain until nightfall. Yan Dan walked for a while and suddenly felt something was wrong. She felt as if she had just walked this road before. Not wanting to scare everyone by exaggerating, she kept quiet.
When they reached the same spot for the third time, the troupe leader stopped and said, "It seems like we just walked through here."
Yan Dan took the lantern from Min Liu and shone it towards the bushes. She saw a dense forest with ancient trees reaching for the sky, their trunks entwined with thick wisteria vines. Min Liu nervously gripped her arm and whispered, "Did you just see something?"
Yan Dan shook her head and simply said, "No, I'm just afraid there might be wild animals here."
Min Liu immediately flung her sleeve aside, quickly squeezed to the side of the troupe leader, and bumped into Hua Hanjing in the process.
Yan Dan raised the lantern in her hand, and saw a moth fluttering its wings and bumping around on the thin paper. She looked back at the bushes again, where wisteria vines were twining around the trunks, blooming with pale purple flowers, and a faint fragrance filled the damp mountain air...
After walking for about half an hour on the dark mountain path, Uncle Zhao muttered under his breath, "...We're back here again!"
Yan Dan remained silent. In fact, she had already noticed it the first time they circled back to the same spot. It's inevitable that there are some newly formed mountain spirits and monsters in these mountains. They may not necessarily have malicious intent; sometimes they're just bored and play pranks on mortals. However, this was already the fourth time they'd circled back to the same place; this kind of prank had gone too far.
Yan Dan closed her eyes briefly, her mind instantly clearing. She only smelled a faint floral fragrance in the air, without any murderous intent or malevolence.
She slowed her pace, carefully looked around, and gradually distanced herself from the person in front of her.
This is very likely a form of illusion, a kind of "ghost wall" technique. To put it bluntly, it's just a trick that uses illusion to piece together two unconnected places, causing people to repeatedly circle around these two areas. They are trapped now.
Yan Dan lowered her head, using the lantern to illuminate the ground as she slowly searched forward. Every illusion has its flaws; her master had once said this. Even if all the surrounding mountain paths were pieced together, there would inevitably be a misaligned section.
Yan Dan reached out and touched the ground. In the lantern light, her fingers were covered in clay. But after taking two more steps, the ground beneath her feet turned into red soil. The soil couldn't have changed so quickly in just a few steps. She suddenly turned around and felt as if everything around her had suddenly turned white. A pitiful voice cried in her ear, "You killed me in your past life... I've come to take your life in this life..."
Yan Dan paused, suddenly feeling a gentle breath on the back of her neck. The person continued crying, "Debts from the past life must be repaid in this one, return my life..." Anyone else might have been paralyzed with fear, but this person was deliberately talking about past and present lives; she had only lived one lifetime. Hearing the voice growing closer, seemingly nearing its end, she swiftly reached out and grabbed the mischievous mountain demon by the neck.
It was probably a flower spirit, emanating a faint fragrance. In human form, it was a little girl, her mouth agape, wide enough to fit an egg, staring at Yan Dan. After a long while, she finally remembered to struggle: "Why are you holding me? Let me go!"
Yan Dan picked her up and threatened her rudely, "You'd better undo the illusion first."
The flower spirit opened her mouth as if to speak, but Yan Dan took the opportunity to shake her. She immediately shouted, "I know, I know, I'll untie you now, please stop shaking me!"
Yan Dan let go of her hand, squatted down to watch her cough repeatedly, and asked while resting her chin on her hand, "Are you a flower spirit?"
The little girl immediately stood up and twirled in front of her, her clothes fluttering: "Look at my appearance, and then look at my clothes... Apart from flower fairies, where else in this world can you find such a beautiful demon?"
"That's good. Where is your clan leader? Take me to see him." Yan Dan stood up and patted the dust off her sleeves.
"You're looking for my grandfather? Why? Hmm, I feel like you're just like me... but why don't you have any demonic aura?"
Yan Dan looked down at her, suddenly realizing that violence was far more effective than gentle persuasion: "Are you taking me with you or not? If not, you'll remain the same person you were before..."
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